Regenerative transmission



Oct. 28, 1941. R. CHILTON REGENERATIVE TRANSM ISS ION Original Filed June 18,1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVE NTOR fozm mjzzwr BY H ATITORN EY Oct. 28, 1941. R. cm ow 2,261,019

REQENERATIVE TRANSMISSION Original Filed June 18, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV ENTOR 1? 0MND M127" 01V BY 6 a ATTORNEY III Oct. 28, 1941. R. CHILTON REGENERATIVE TRANSMISSION 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed June 18, 1938 N3 \Q 1 A m u w V I NV E N TOR Fol/2ND 4711mm! BY m/W ATTO RN EY Oct. 28, 1941. CHILTON 2,261,019

REGENERATIVE TRANSMI SS ION Original Filed June 18, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Komm 011x70 Get. 28, 1941. c N

REGENERATIVE TRANSMISSION Original Filed Jun 18, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INV EN T0 R fozwaazzm W u t i 4 w! Z ATTORNEY Patented 28, 1941 UNITED STATES" PATENT "OF E.

aaoaivmwrrva TRANSMISSION Roland Chilton, Ridgewood, N. J.

Substituted for abandoned application Serial No.

214,417, June 18, 1938. This application July 9, 1940, Serial No. $4,480

6 Claims. (Cl. 74-572) The present application is a substitute for application Serial No. 214,417,. flled June 18,

I 1938, and thereafter forfeited.

hicle to the flywheel for deceleration of the vehicl and from the flywheel to the vehicle for acceleration of the vehicle. In other words, the

variable speed and torque transmission is ameans drivably connecting theenergy storing flythe vehicle from rest tomaximum speed, which energy will be given up when the flywheel is decelerated in the ratio of approximately 14:10.

Conversely, by' accelerating the flywheel in the ratio 10:14 R. P. M. by mere change in transmission ratio. the vehicle will be brought to rest from maximum speed by transfer of its energy -of-motion to the flywheel, which energy will be available for subsequent vehicle acceleration.

The present invention teaches improved mechanisms for effecting this regenerative speed control of driven means comprising masses to be accelerated and decelerated, such as vehicles.

Objects of the present invention are to increase the effective torque capacity of transmission mechanism by running it at high rotational speeds and to provide an improved flywheel disposition. The invention includes improvements in starting means and in other structure as will be clear from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan section through axes of driving, driven and transmission shafts;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on the line 2- -2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

driving clutch;

Fig. 4 is an end view in fragmentary section on the line 4.-4 of Fig. '1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary axial view of a one-way Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section on the line 6-6ofFlg.1,and- 1 Figs. '7, 8, and!) are detail views showing a modified construction of roller control arm anchorages.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, [a designatesthe backplate of a conventional engine havin a normal crankshaft flange [2 to which is secured by bolts I4 a normal engine flywheel I6 and an inner or cam member I8 of a one-way clutch comprising rollers 20 engaging an outer ring 22 (see also Fig. 5). The ring 22 drives a drivinggear 24 through spring means 26 indicated as an annular rubber element. The gear 24 is integral with a shaft- 28 supported in a bearing 30 carried in a. wall 32 of a front housing 34 secured to the engine backplate It as by bolts The gear 24 meshes with a high speed pinion 38 rigid with a main transmission" shaft 40 having a coned raceway or drive member 42. Surrounding the shaft 28'of the driving gear 24 is a driven shaft 44 carrying a gear 48,.meshed with a pinion 48 rigid'with a drive plate 50 and mounted for free rotation on the main shaft 40. The shaft 44 of the gear 46 extends through a rear bearing .52 and the extension carries a conventional propeller shaft driving flange 54 from which the vehicle is driven in the usual way.

Splined to the rearward end of th transmission shaft 40 is a bevel gear 56 having cam-form pockets engaging torque-responsive balls 58 which, in turn, engage corresponding cam tracks in a driving. disc 60 having a toroidal face 62, which is thussubject to torque-responsive axial loading. v

Mounted for free rotation on the shaft 40 is a companion driven toroidal disc 64 having an annular cone driving track 66. Engaged between the track 66 and the drive cone 42 of the shaft 40 are planetary coned rollers 68 rotatable on spindles 10 integral with a planetary member I2 and having a slotted driving engagement with v the drive plate 50 as indicated at I4.

Engaged betweenthe opposed toroidal discs tend tangentially to integral bevel pinions '82 engaged between opposed hypoid ring gears 84-86, rotatable in a main housing 88. The roller mounting and control arms 88 are provided at their outer ends with collars between which are fitted forked ends 88 of anchor members 82 fltted in bores accurately spaced in the housing 88. It will be seen that the control arms 88 are located against end-wise or tangential movement by the anchor forks 88 which resist the tangential driving effort on the rollers but which have slight clearance as indicated at 94 (Fig. 3) for slight lateral motion of the outer ends of the arms. The spacing and lateral location of the arms 88 is controlled by the pinions 82 meshed with the opposed hypoid ring gears 8486 and one of these, 84 in this case, has a slot engaged by a ball end 96 (see Fig. 6) integral with a control arm 98 rigid with an operator's control lever I88 pivotally mounted on a spindle I82.

It will now be seen that equal and opposite rotation of the hypoid control ring gears 8486 will follow any ratio changing angulation of the rollers 16 without lateral or off-tangency displacement of the pinions 82. On the other hand, unequal rotation of the ring gears, or initial rotation of the control gear 64 alone by the operators control lever I88, will tend to laterally displace the pinions 82, upsetting the normal tangential disposition of the rollers '16, which displacement initiates precession of the rollers 16 towards a new ratio position. Such precession, be it noted, rotates the pinions 82 and these pinions in turn react on their contacts with the ring gear 84 so that the precession will only continue as long as this movement is followed up by the control lever I88. With the control lever I88 (and therefore the ring 'gear84) held, any tendency of the rollers 16 to move from their instant angular position will tend to roll the pinions 82 around the ring gear 84 introducing a displacement from tangency which will counteract the movement. Thus, the rollers are stabilized in the angular position dictated by the control gear 84 while the companion or floating control gear 86 engaging the opposite sides of the pinions acts as a vinculum restraining all the rollers to identical angular positions.

The bevel gear 56 is engaged with a similar ing maximum speed set by the adjustment of the governor spring I86.

Referring now to Fig. 1, I56 designates a starter bolted to the housing 88 and-having a gear I58 engageable with the gear 24 by suitable meshing means (not shown). Splined internally into the left hand end of the shaft 28 of the gear 24 is a starter jaw I68 normally kept out of contact with a companion jaw I62 by a spring I64, but movable leftwards to effect such engagement by means of a rod I66 extending through the shaft 28 and engaging, at the right hand end thereof, a cross pin I68 operated by a sliding collar I18 engaged by an internal lever I12 rigid with an external control lever I14, Fig. 4, through a shaft I16. The driven starter jaw I62, Fig. 1, has splined to its leftward end clutch plates I18 interleaved with driven clutch plates I88 splined into the roller clutch member I8 previously described as rigid with the flange I2 of the engine crankshaft. The clutch plates are permanently frictionaliy engaged under the pressure of a clutch spring I82.

Driven from the left hand of the transmission main shaft 48 at I84 is an oil pump comprising gears I86-I68 which pump draws oil through suitable passages I98 from an oil sump 2I2 (Fig. 3) and which oil is delivered under pressure to a bore I92 in the main shaft ducts I84 (Fig. 2).

Slidable on the main shaft 48 is a member I96 comprising radial arms having ball heads I88 fitted in bores formed in the roller bearing spindles 18 by which means these spindles are pressure lubricated. A second oil collector member 288 serves to convey oil from the bore I92 of the main shaft 48 to the axial hole 2L8 in the flywheel shaft I86 from whence the oil is led to the various bearings and to the flywheel, and at the same time flooding the valve I52 by oil fed thereto from the duct 2") by suitable drillings 2I4 (Fig. 4). The oil is returned to the oil sump 2I2 by being splashed through the action of the rotating gear I84 rigid with a vertical shaft I86, in turn integral with a large diameter flywheel I88, the flywheel being supported in bearings II8I I2- H4. The end of the transmission shaft 48, just beyond the driving bevel gear 56 is supported in a bearing H8. The bearings H4 and clamped in sleeves II8I28 axially adjustable in the housing 88 by cap screws I22 and Jack screws I :4 to obtain correct mesh of the bevel gears 5 -I84.

A governor mounted in a housing I26 comprises balls I28 driven by a cone member I38 rigid with the high speed flywheel shaft I86 and engaging a cone member I32 guided by an integral spindle I34 for plunging action against the pressure of a governor spring I36. The plunging cone member I32 is engaged by a lever I38. rigid with a shaft I48 which, in turn, carries two external levers, one, I42 being connected to the throttle of the engine (not shown) and the other, lever I44, being connected by a rod I46 to a lever I48 rigid with a lever I58 adapted, on extreme governor movement, to lift an oil flooding valve I52 (Figs. 1 and 4).

flywheel by means of the mechanism Just described whenever the flywheel reaches a limit- Preferably, the flywheel is enclosed by a cover I54 bolted to the housing 88, as shown,

and oil is admitted to the smallspace around the parts through a suitable high level catchment slot 2I6 (Fig. 3).

In this organization the planetary coned rollers 68 are subject to high centrifugal force and to thrust reactions from their contact load. 'One of the features of the invention resides in novel means for resisting these forces, as follows: The floating toroidal disc 64 is provided with a cylindricaltrack 2I8, the mid-width of which intersects a continuation of the cone race 66, and the roller is provided with a crowned head engaging the cylindrical track. This track is preferably opposite to the center of gravity of the rollers which it restrains against centrifugal force by rolling contact, the rolling velocities hereat being .ways rotate in fixed ratio. Between these two systems there is interposed the variable speed organization including th discs 62-84 and the interposed tiltable rollers 16. The variable speed transmission has a ratio range extending from 48 through suitable 1 -1 to 1-0, afl'ording this ratio range between the,driving gear 24 and the driven gear 40 and shaft pinion 30, main shaft 40 and fLvwheel gears 58-! previously described. When the flywheel has reached a suitable speed, the starter Jaws will be engaged by operation of the lever Ill through the shaft I", collar I10, cross pin I68 and thrust rod "has previously described.

Upon this engagement of lthe starter Jaw ill. with the engine jaw N2, the slip clutch lit-I80 v will slip under the present torque of this clutch until the engine is accelerated to correspond. to flywheel speed. As soon as the engine starts to flre, the starter -:Iaw control I'll will be released. The foregoing is in accordance with the operation of slip clutch inertia starters as taught initially in my Patent No. 1,561,506. However, in this case, the disposition is novel in that the energy storing flywheel of the regenerative system itself is utilized as the inertia starter means. Moreover, it will be understood that the roller clutch 2!! permits the transmission as a whole to over-run the engine during this starting energization of the flywheel.

Ill isre tracted towards 1:0 ratio, the flywheel is accelerated and the vehicle decelerated, thus transferring the kinetic energy of the vehicle to the flywheel and achieving regenerative braking according ato teachings of my Patent No. 2,118,590. y 1

Figs. 7 and 9 illustrate a detail modification of the roller arm anchoring means ",providing an anti-friction construction. In this construction.

the shoulders on the'roller control arms have been modifled to embrace a roller 22. mounted on'an anti-friction (needle type) bearing 222, Journaied on the anchor pin Old, as shown. As has been said before, the torque reaction on the rollers devolves on the roller arm anchor means whereat the arms are displaced laterally by a minute amount when the control mechanism initiates the precessing movement of the rollers 16 by which the ratio is changed. It'will be obvi-' ous that, the object of the anti-friction roller bearing 220222 is to minimize the frictional, restraint to the minute displacement of the arms by which the roller precession 'is initiated.

iii

The operation of the ratio changing organiza- I2 rotate unitarily with the main shaft 40. The

rollers 16 in the position X-'-X,give the same ratio between the discs 62-42 as aflorded between the discs 64 and the cone race by theplanetary rollers 58. The spindles of the rollers 78 are non-planetary, i. e., the centers of these rollers are stationary wherefrom it follows that the spindles 10 of the coned rollers 68 must also be stationary and with them the connected elements comprising the driven disc 50, the pinwill be exceeded-and slippage will occur.

A minimum of friction in the control means.

accelerating anddecelerating the vehicle is vested in the hand control lever Hill. This leverreplaices the usual throttle, clutch, accelerator pedal and shift lever. All increase and decrease in vehicle speed is responsive exclusively to the rate of movement of this single control lever. In fact, the speed of the driving wheels of the vehicle will follow rigidly the movement of the lever although, if the rate of movement be excessive, the tractive capacity of the driving wheels This unusual capacity is an inherent characteristic of this kinetic transmission system wherein the rate at which energy may be abstracted from the energy storing flywheel is proportional to the rate ion 48, the gear'dfl, the driven shaft 48 and the will be automatically closed, bringing the engine to "idle, with the flywheel running at governed speed, the one-way clutch l8-22 being organized for this purpose. This starting and initial flywheel acceleration is performed in 1:0 ratio, to which condition the transmission was necessarily brought in order to stop the vehicle, and the driven coupling 54 remains stationary in 1:0 ratio regardless of the speed of the flywheel andof the associated transmission parts. To accelerate the vehicle, the control lever, Hill is progressively advanced from this zero ratio position and the energy for accelerating the vehicle is thus abstracted from the flywheel I08 by deceleration thereof as the transmission is moved to-- at which the ratio'is changed by. the control lever and is limited only by the physical strength of the transmission, the tractive capacity at the driving wheels and/or the comfort of, the passengers.

This instant response of the rate of acceleration of the driving wheels to the rate of movement of the control lever is difierent from the action of the conventional accelerator" which,

when fully and suddenly depressed, merelyapplies maximum of engine torque to the driving system, which torque (in high gear) is capable of imposing only a moderate rate of vehicle acceleration. In low, gear in conventional tainable in this gear alone.

vehicles, on the other hand, the engine torque .is capable of slipping the rear wheels and optimum vehicle acceleration is conventionally ob- With the kinetic system of this invention, on the other hand, optimum acceleration is obtainable throughout the speed range, this being one of the basic characteristics of this system which, however, requires .a judicious rate of movement of the control lever and/or dampening means therein to mechaniwards 1:1 ratio. Conversely, as the control lever 1. A transmission including in combination, concentric driving and driven gears, concentric pinions meshed with respective gears for high I speed rotation relative thereto, a transmission adapted to enforce progressively variable speed ratios between said pinions, and a flywheel drivably connected at fixed ratio with the pinion which engages the driving gear.

2. A transmission between an engine and a propelling shaft comprising in combination, concentric gears mounted for rotation with said engine and shaft respectively, a'pinion meshed with said engine gear for high speed rotation relative thereto, a flywheel, fixed ratio .means drivably connecting said flywheel and pinion, a pinion meshed with said propeller shaftgear for high speed rotation relative thereto, and a transmission concentric with said pinions and adapted to enforce progressively variable speed ratios therebetween.

3. In combination with an engine power shaft and a driven shaft concentric therewith, of gears drivably engaging respective shafts, concentric pinions engaging respective gears for high speed rotation relative thereto, a transmission adapted to enforce progressively variable driving ratios between said pinions, a flywheel, and fixed ratio means drivably connecting said flywheel to said engine-gear-engaging-pinion.

4. In apparatus ofthe class described, layshaft mechanism including a pair of concentric pinions and a transmission controllable to enforce progressively variable speed ratios between said pinions, an engine gear meshed with one of said pinions for low speed rotation relative thereto, a driven gear concentric with the engine gear and meshed with the other pinion forlow speed rotationrelative thereto, a flywheel, and fixed ratio means drivably connecting said flywheel and said engine-gear-engaging pinion.

5. In apparatus of the class described, a layshaft comprising concentric pinions and a transmission adapted to enforce progressively variable speed ratios therebetween, engine and driven gears concentric with each other and meshed with respective pinions, and an energy-storing flywheel drivabiy connected with the engineengaging pinion, each said pinion being substantially smaller than the engaged gear whereby the torque load on said transmission is less than that on said gears.

6. In. a regenerative transmission system, in combination, an engine, an energy-storing flywheel geared up from the engine to more than engine speed, a one-way clutch normally preventing the fiywheel from driving the engine, an infinitely variable speed transmission organization adapted to transfer energy from said fly- 

